1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to removable, flexible track belts used to wrap around vehicle tires to provide additional traction and particularly to an improved track section for such track belts for use in areas where additional floatation is required and damage to the median being operated on held to a minimum.
2. Background Information
The use of an endless track as a traction enhancer for wheeled vehicles is well known. Typically, such endless track belts comprise a plurality of individual track sections, made of steel, that are linked together for pivotal movement with respect to adjacent track sections. These track belts have traditionally been used to obtain better overall traction for the vehicle generally and in wet and slippery conditions in particular. Examples of such prior art track belts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,387, issued to Loegering on Feb. 8, 1994, and references cited therein. The Loegering patent discloses a track section linked to a plurality of similar track sections to form a flexible track belt for wrap-around mounting on a vehicle tire, wherein each track section has a rigid, ground engaging base pad and a pair of spaced apart side wall structures that include a side plate and a pair of side plate support segments.
Market demand has created a need, however, for a track assembly referred to as a soft bottom track. The track assembly preferably provides floatation similar to conventional track systems, improves the traction of a skid-steer in slick conditions and eliminates or drastically reduces damage to concrete, cobblestone, asphalt, or any other surface on which the machine may be operating. An example of such prior art track belts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,085, issued to Comellas on Mar. 14, 1972. The Comellas patent discloses a track having a ground-engaging surface, including staggered recesses, made of an elastomeric material that is substantially flat, smooth and free of projections.
Performance characteristics of these and related prior art devices, however, have fallen short of expectations, including especially the reduced life of the track pad, resulting in increased frequency of replacement, resulting in an increased operating cost. Additionally, as the softer ground-engaging material of prior art pads has worn away, gouging has resulted as the edges of the track assembly members have become exposed to the surface.
The soft bottom track assembly of the present invention overcomes difficulties described above and affords other features and advantages heretofore not available.